| About Me |
Visit my Blog for current works and happenings! |
| In 2001, my husband and I both lost our jobs when the company we worked for closed. With a mortgage to pay and tuition fees (our two children were attending a local Christian school) coming due, there was a lot of stress in our home as we looked for jobs. To relieve the stress, I began to paint which was
something I had enjoyed as a child. I started painting portraits of our children from photographs that we had taken. I borrowed books from the library to learn as much as I could about techniques to use. After many months of soul searching and of trying to find the right job, I told my husband I would like to try to sell my art on the internet. It
was something I could do that I enjoyed, left me time to be available to attend my children's school activities and was an excellent way to relieve stress. In 2004, I began selling my art through eBay.
Although I am a self-taught artist, I have studied various techniques and applied them throughout my works. Growing up on a farm in rural Tennessee has inspired many of my artworks which feature wildlife such as those found in the Water Garden Series. My spiritual paintings reflect my
Christian faith which was taught to me as a child by my mother and grandmother.
My paintings reflect my life experiences, part memory, emotion, and a little fantasy. I usually paint from a collection of photographs using them as a reference point for color, shadow and shape. I paint things from my everyday life with many of the floral scenes inspired from walks with my dog, Noel.
What was originally a necessity has become a love of expressing my small world on canvas. |
 This is Noel, who takes me on daily walks and
often assists with my painting.
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 My Studio |
My style of painting is representational. I am concentrating my skills in three distinct areas: wildlife and floral, children's figures/portraits and inspirational themes.
I work mainly with acrylics on larger size canvases. Working with acrylics allows me to work faster and more efficiently due to the quicker drying times. I also work in oils, especially on portraits, but the slower drying times (usually over a month to dry) doesn't allow me to offer as many as I would like.
This summer I updated my studio. Since I paint on mostly larger size canvases, I made a large easel so that I can work on larger paintings more easily (my husband refers to me as "Barb Villa" when I'm in a home improvement mood). I also added shelves to display the paintings I have completed (for inspirational purposes of
course).
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| My husband calls me the "goldfish" lady since I usually have a work in progress featuring a goldfish or I'm out in the backyard working on the pond. After buying a home in Nashville, I wanted a tranquil area for just kicking back and relaxing after work, so I built a water garden. I have over 30 goldfish living in
the pond as well as water lilies, horse-tail rush, sweet flag, snails and frogs (which I refer to as pond residents). The water lilies and other plants provide shade, food and shelter for the fish. In the spring and summer months, you can find cats, birds, dragonflies, and butterflies (the pond visitors) in our backyard. The sound of water falling attracts
many birds to the garden such as robins, chick-a-dees, doves, and the ornery blue jays. I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee where I am working as a full-time artist. Selling on the internet allows me the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom and do the type of work I love to do. I have two children in high school and being able to
be at their after school events and activities is priceless. |
 My Art Wall |
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